Process for electro-hydrodynamically enhanced destruction of chemical air contaminants and airborne inactivation of biological agents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for electro-hydrodynamic destruction of an aerosol. The method includes receiving air having large aerosols, greater than about 1 micron, and small aerosols, smaller than about 1 micron, and entraining the large aerosols and small aerosols within an airflow. The airflow is directed to an electric field, which causes the large aerosols to react with the electric field to accumulate an electric charge resulting in extraction of the large aerosols from the airflow. The airflow is also directed to a non-thermal plasma such that the small aerosols remain entrained in the airflow and are subject to electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) phenomena. The non-thermal plasma outputs at least one of radicals, excited species, and ionized atoms and molecules capable of reacting with the small aerosols to result in physical and/or chemical destruction of the small aerosols.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electro-hydrodynamic system for destruction of biological pathogen particles, the electro-hydrodynamic system comprising:
 an air handling system having an interior volume configured to receive an airstream therethrough, said airstream entraining an aerosol containing large biological pathogen particles having diameters larger than 1 micrometer and small biological pathogen particles having diameters smaller than 1 micrometer; 
 wherein said air handling system comprises an air inlet configured to receive said airstream comprising said aerosol having the large biological pathogen particles and the small biological pathogen particles; and 
 an integrally-formed electric field and non-thermal plasma system configured to output an electric field configured to extract the large biological pathogen particles from the airstream and to exert electro-hydrodynamic (EHD) phenomena upon the airstream and the small biological pathogen particles contained within it, the integrally-formed electric field and non-thermal plasma system configured to further output a non-thermal plasma comprising at least one of radicals, excited species, and ionized atoms and molecules, the non-thermal plasma configured to chemically react with the small biological pathogen particles for destruction thereof, the integrally-formed electric field and non-thermal plasma system comprises a wire-plate non-thermal plasma system outputting the electric field and the non-thermal plasma, the wire-plate non-thermal plasma system having a plurality of wire electrodes spaced in the range of 0.25 m to 0.75 m. 
 
     
     
       2. The electro-hydrodynamic system according to  claim 1  wherein an air pressure upstream of the integrally-formed electric field and non-thermal plasma system is equal to an air pressure downstream of the integrally-formed electric field and non-thermal plasma system.